He’s hot now, and Bills’ Morrison wants it to last

The essence of Kirk Morrison’s story mirrors that of so many young professionals: He’s 30 and college educated. He’s worked full time for three employers and part time for a couple more.

Morrison is trying to do a really good job for his current employer while preparing for the next one.

Why? It’s simple: He knows the job he has today may not be the one he has tomorrow. And he’s totally OK with those things.

He’s a driven and motivated multitasker, and the question mark that looms over his future serves as incentive to try to shape it.

Maybe you know someone like Morrison, or ... maybe you are someone like Morrison.

He’s not one of a kind, but there is something that makes Morrison stand out from the Gen Y professional crowd: He’s a National Football League player, which means his full-time employers have been, in reverse chronological order, the Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders.

That also explains why, if Morrison lives a long life, his current job – linebacker for the Bills – is guaranteed not to be his last one. There are varying figures out there on the average length of an NFL career: Three and a half years if you include every player who’s been to training camp; six years if you include only those who made opening-day rosters. In either scenario, though, Morrison beat the odds. If he makes the Bills’ 2012 roster, this will be his eighth NFL season.

But whenever his career ends – whether now, or in the next several years – Morrison is ready for what’s next. He co-hosts a national weekly show on Fox Sports Radio with former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Rob Dibble. He’s the director of business development for Centurion Strategies, a Tampa Bay firm that helps athletes develop branding and marketing programs.

That part-time work isn’t just a safety net designed to catch Morrison should his NFL career end soon. He enjoys business; this off-season he attended a program for NFL players run by Harvard Business School. He also enjoys media work, and considered it as a career option even back in his days as an undergraduate at San Diego State.

Morrison is doing these things because he likes the challenge. But he also knows that his off-field work can provide a “smooth, easy transition” when he’s done.

“You need to find a way to focus on football and also find a way to focus on a career – other things you can do,” Morrison told me during a recent interview in the team’s administrative offices at Ralph Wilson Stadium

High-risk, high-reward industry that it is, football is among the most volatile professions in terms of career security.

The rewards are considerable: Morrison’s salary with the Bills is widely reported as $950,000, and in other seasons he has earned more than double that figure. If you earn that kind of money for enough years, and handle it smartly, you can set yourself up comfortably for life.

But as countless stories reveal, most athletes don’t easily transition out of the game. After having a purpose and a platform for so many years, the silence of retirement can be jarring.

“When you’re playing, you’re hot,” Morrison said. “When you’re not …”

He likens it to reality television, another form of entertainment where the stars are temporary (albeit less paid and usually less skilled) and fans’ memory is short.

“All those reality television stars, when their show is over with, they’re trying to find that next thing to get back on top,” Morrison said. “But that door is closed.”

That’s why Morrison networks now. He shows up at NFL functions, meets business executives, follows up on leads, maintains one of the league’s strongest Twitter followings (nearly 360,000) and treats every meeting and media interview as an opportunity to present himself well.

“If you come off strong and confident, people are excited,” Morrison said. “They want to do more with you.”

That’s no different than any creative, intellectually agile young professional. Morrison’s visibility is higher than most, and his current work less predictable, but the concepts are the same.

“It (an NFL career) can end in 20 seconds,” he said. “I can get a phone call from upstairs that says, ‘Hey, we want to move on.’ You’re always preparing yourself.”